"Fury, demonically
charged and technically staggering. Here is big piano playing
in its most unfettered and dangerous state. What a performance!"
- Gramophone
"He takes his wonderful
fingers for granted and he is a master of every period or
style represented...the pieces sing. I have no hesitation
calling him an important pianist.." - Harold Schonberg
Was born in Salento
in 1968 and began studying piano there under Vittoria De Donno.
He went on to study composition and orchestration with Jacques
Castérède in Paris, where he also attended a number of courses
at the IRCAM. Libetta has performed Beethoven's thirty-two
Sonatas (1993-1994) and Godowsky's fifty-three Studies on
Chopin's Études (Galatina, 1990; Milan, 1994-1995; and Naples,
1995), described by Cantù as a "monster corpus that had to
wait eighty years for its world première performance" (Il
Giornale, 15 March 1994).
Jeremy Nicholas, Godowsky's
biographer, said of Libetta's performance of these Studies:
"Stunning. I never thought I'd hear such mesmerizing performances
of these pieces in concert." (International Piano Quarterly,
Spring 1999). In 1993 Libetta gave the Italian première of
L'Escalier du Diable by Gyorgy Ligeti, who praised his reading
of the work as "absolutely gorgeous". At the thirteenth International
Festival in Alicante, Spain, Libetta gave the world première
performance of the Concerto for Piano and Orchestra by Franco
Oppo.
Libetta has given
solo performances of works by Chopin at La Scala in Milan,
where he has also accompanied the string trio of the resident
orchestra in performances of works by Mozart and Mahler. He
has been a regular performer at the Milan Conservatoire and
has given cycles of the complete works of Chopin in Southern
Italy. During the last year, Libetta has made his debuts in
Japan (recitals in Tokyo and Osaka) and the United States
(a recital at the Miami International Piano Festival of Discovery)
to great acclaim. Upcoming engagements include a recital of
the complete Godowsky Studies in Florence and a recital at
the the prestigious Husum Festival.
To contact Francesco
Libetta, e-mail:
francesco@miamipianofest.com
or visit his website at: www.francescolibetta.it
When Libetta was twenty
years old, he was described by Aldo Ciccolini as "the most
talented instrumentalist of his generation". Eric Schoones
has called him "the reincarnation of Dinu Lipatti" (PianoWereld,
March 1999).
Critics have been
unanimous in hailing his rare qualities: "elegance and charm,
(...), with a hint, a touch of aristocratic frivolity that
we did not think we would ever witness again" (Francesco Maria
Colombo); "nonchalant facility" (Paolo Tarallo); "a breadth
of knowledge that extends far beyond the world of music and
the piano repertoire" (Alfredo Mandelli); a "complete command
of sound and technique" (Piero Rattalino); and "such miraculous
virtuosity and such a delicate feel for melody that one cannot
help wondering whether any other artist of his generation
- whether in Italy or elsewhere - can be compared to him"
(Paolo Isotta). (Critical acclaim from the Corriere della
Sera and Pianotime).
He has recorded for
the Italian Agorà and Scandinavian Promusica labels, and also
conducts, composes (his three act opera Iopa is still in progress,
but excerpts have been performed at the Villa Medici in Rome,
Lecce and Catania), and gives recitals on original instruments.
Mr. Libetta is a recipient
of support of Patrons of Exceptional Artists. His appearance
in the Third Anual Miami International Piano Festival of Discovery
marked his Debut in the US and he will appear again at the
Festival on January 24, 2001 and on February 9, 2001.
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